Review: In ‘Ramen Heads,’ a Noodle Chef Gets Tangled Up in His Job

“Ramen Heads” has all the thrills of a corporate training video, with about as much humor, too. Over-narrated and self-serious, this documentary allows its good intentions to pave the way to a tepid tale.

Centering on Osamu Tomita, who runs one of Japan’s most-praised ramen restaurants, the film follows him and a few other chefs as they mix broth, cook noodles and greet customers. We’re told that making and eating ramen can be a quasi-religious experience. Slow-motion footage, instrumental music and loving close-ups of ingredients do all they can to drive that point home.

What the film lacks, though, is a strong reason to watch. Unlike the obsession witnessed in “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” or the drollness of “The Search for General Tso,” “Ramen Heads” usually forgoes a driving theme or story line. Other than late scenes charting Mr. Tomita’s plans for his shop’s 10th anniversary celebration, food preparation is the overwhelming motif, leading to myriad shots of boiling pots and steaming meals.

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A preview of the film.Published OnMarch 6, 2018

The director Koki Shigeno and his crew move smoothly around cramped kitchens and tiny dining rooms. And little here seems staged or scrubbed for the cameras, providing a sense of authenticity.

But the interviews aren’t as insightful, and the narration often delivers odd pronouncements via subtitle. In the first moments it is said that ramen imparts “a feeling like the warm, glowing memory of a lover.” Another scene shows a restaurant where “patrons engage deeply with their bowls,” while a late segment proclaims that the taste of certain dishes “feels nostalgic, even if the memories are not our own.” All of that can be a lot to chew on.